National Weather Service warns of floods, wind gusts

Paradise Creek in Moscow flooded from the evening of Dec. 26 and morning of Dec. 27 along Mountain View Park to the Latah County fairgrounds and left an unknown number of residents affected by the rising waters.

Neighboring Pullman and areas in Whitman County are under similar flood and wind advisories as of Tuesday, Dec. 27.

Wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour were reported by the Pullman Regional Airport as of 3:58 p.m. on Dec. 27, with winds up to 55-60 mph expected in the later evening and past midnight on Dec. 28.

Multiple power outages were reported on Dec. 27, although it was not known at press time how many residents or businesses were affected in Whitman County.

The high winds were also reported to extend to LaCrosse and into Adams County communities like Ritzville.

As of the early evening of Dec. 27, the wind advisory was expected to remain in effect until the morning to early afternoon of Dec. 28.

Whitman County also saw several reports of flooding on Dec. 27, with State Route 271 near Rosalia being reported as being under water, as well as several rural fields and urban areas along the southern part of Spokane and northern border of Whitman County.

State Route 27 in Idaho's Latah County also has several reported cases of flooding along parts of the road and similar areas as being reported in Spokane and Whitman County.

According to Greg Koch, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Spokane, the Palouse River is expected to crest along the north of the river and the south fork, but is not expected to be a flooding hazard.

Koch also warned of staying away from rising waters from creeks and streams due to the cold weather, as well as river banks due to them being slick and the potential of getting swept by the current and cold temperatures.

Potential flood risks and occurrences are expected to increase through the rest of the week in areas that don't drain well such as fields and urban areas with clogged storm drains, as a result of the warmer temperatures and rain melting existing snow packs away.

The rising waters were said to be expected to slow on the night of Dec. 28, as the temperatures cool back down to the low-to-mid 30s in the following days.

This report was written with information received Dec. 27 at press time.